Invictus
by mythlover20
Summary: What I had wanted to see in ME3. Started before ME3's release so this story is definitely not canon! Based on the rumors of the "Invictus" mission that circulated the Thane forum thread on the BSN around December 2011. Many inside references for thread goers. Shepard x Thane (formerly x Kaidan) and Kolyat! Will update slowly. Crime and romance in later chapters. Rated T for now.
1. Prologue  Unfulfilled Desires

**Well, finally, it has happened. Invictus has gone _LIVE_! **

**I know! Shocking huh? I thought it was never going to happen, too!**

**So, those who have read my work before are going to be going: _WTF? Didn't she post this before? You biatch! You tricked us!_**

**Well, yes, I did. Thank you for noticing. Those who have actually read my profile or been on the Thane thread of the BSN within the last month will know that I retroactively decided to make this tale the prologue of Invictus. And I know that if I don't post it again, in Invictus, new readers won't read it. So since the emotions of the tale would suffer without it, I am reposting _Unfulfilled Desires_. I will keep it as a one-shot post for those who have favourited it, but those who haven't read it yet, don't worry. It hasn't been changed one bit.**

**So thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and author alerted me. You guys mean the world to me! *HUGZ***

**I promise, I'll have Chapter One up as soon as I finish the final edit. Gotta make sure it makes sense for you all, don't I? ;)**

**Oh, and anything that isn't in English will have been translated in Google Translate. Let's see how funny it end us, shall we?  
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**Hugz and Kizzes**

**Sharlene.**

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><p><strong>Prologue - Uopfyldte Ønsker - Unfulfilled Desires<strong>

Drinks in hand, separated by strangers, their eyes meet across the room. Friends and enemies, politicians and trial: all immediately forgotten in captive gazes. One step, then another, two meet under golden light.

He bows, she curtsies. He holds out his green-scaled hand. She stares at it, her heart beats faster. She is afraid, unsure, but she takes it still.

Gently, he pulls her into his arms. His hand is warm and strong on her back. Her hand: light and fleeting on his shoulder. His fingers tighten on her hand, and warm tingles spread over her skin. Safe and sound, her nerves ease. She relaxes into his hold.

The music starts, soft and sweet. He moves; she follows. Lightly he swirls her over the floor. Her skirts flair, she stumbles. She ducks her head, embarrassed. Softly he comforts her, nuzzling the light blond hair piled high on her head.

She raises her eyes from his chest. Big, beautiful black eyes meet her green. Her heart stops. Her fingers flex on his shoulder. She moves closer, his arm tightens across her back. Breast to chest, they move again, stronger together than they are alone. Staring into each other's eyes, their souls are no longer their own.

He smiles. She smiles back. Time stops for them both. The music: it's just for them. The floor: it is empty. The world exists, but just for those two.

In their minds there is no longer any fear, no longer any hate, no more stress and no more pain. There is only love, only happiness, only the peace that can only found in each other's arms. They move together; two beings now one.

The music stops, the room is quiet. They part, smiles soft and peaceful. He lifts her face to his, kisses her softly. He raises her hand to his lips, firmly places another on her palm. Reluctantly, he releases her, and steps back into the crowd she forgot was there.

One blink and he is gone. The light fades to black, and she wakes, alone, lying in her empty bed; his body has long since gone cold. She curls in a ball; one lonely tear streaks down her face. Finally she sleeps, arms wrapped around her stomach the way his used to be.

Cold and uncaring, the stars surrounding her ship sparkle still.


	2. Chapter One  Tears of a Broken Heart

**Author Note:**

**Well, finally, here it is: the first chapter - Tears of a broken heart. I know, I promised to have it posted a week ago. Unfortunately, real life plus a serious lack of motivation had other plans.**

**This is by no means the absolute final draft of this tale. There are a couple of places where it just doesn't sit right with me, so I will quite likely go back and edit it again one day. I just decided to post it now because if I waited until it was perfect it would never get done! Oh, the joys of being a perfectionist. :S**

**Anyway, this chapter was beta'd by my wonderful friend TashaVakarian. She has since been forced to "retire" as it were, due to real life (annoying little bugger, that real life). So I would like to say thank you. You made this chapter a lot better than it would have otherwise been.**

**I have since found a new beta, who will be beta-ing from the next chapter onwards. If I haven't scared her off that is, lol.**

**And to those who don't know, I am currently in the middle of training and preparing for the Queensland National Dancesport Championships, so updates will not be anywhere near as frequent as I would like. But don't worry, I have the first drafts of the next four chapters started, finished and/or edited. They will come. Just, again, you know, real life and all.**

**Thank you to those who have read, reviewed, favourited, author alerted and story alerted me, the original Unfulfilled Desires, and Solid Rock this last month. You guys mean the world to me. *MASSIVE TACKLEHUGS TO YOU ALL!***

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please, let me know what you think. Critical criticism is most welcome.**

**Oh, and PS, everything in this chapter that isn't in English is in Danish. Unfortunately, even though I am of very recent Danish heritage, I don't speak the language. So for any inconsitencies, blame Google Translate.**

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><p><strong>Invictus<strong>

**Chapter One -****Tårer**** af et knust hjerte****- ****Tears of a broken heart…**

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><p><em>Margurite Shepard: Earth-born, War Hero, Sentinel. Full Paragon with a very healthy dose of Renegade. Saved Wrex, Saved Rachni Queen, Romanced Kaiden, Saved Kaiden at Virmire, Saved the Destiny Ascension; All squad members recruited and loyal, destroyed Heretic Geth, Destroyed Collector Base, Miranda and Legion killed. Oops.<em>

_For the purposes of this story, Shepard doesn't receive Thane's LotSB letter until after he leaves._

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><p>"<em>Shepard, ETA to Invictus is twenty minutes."<em>

Shepard rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thank you, EDI. Have Garrus and Tali meet me at the Kodiak in thirty."

"_Affirmative, Shepard."_

Margurite Shepard stared with empty eyes through the dark portal above her bed into the empty blackness of space. She didn't need a mirror to know her hair was a tangled mess. She didn't need one to tell that her eyes were baggy from sleepless nights, or red from the tears she had shed. Hel, did she even _have_ a mirror? For the life of her, she couldn't remember anymore. Not that it mattered. She didn't have anyone she wanted to look good for anymore.

Thane was dead, and she hadn't been there with him when he passed. The last time she saw him he had been with her on the Normandy, there in their quarters, their clothes and weapons carelessly discarded about the room in their desperate need to feel each other's skin against their own. It had been their last night together, before he booked passage on an Asari ship, kissed her goodbye, and reluctantly left her with a damaged ship and a disgruntled crew.

Shepard sighed, and forced herself up and into the bathroom to shower. Her crew needed their commander in top form. They couldn't see her unwashed, tear-stained, and in dirty, week-old clothes. They couldn't know her heartbreak, how she longed to join her love across the sea. She had to go on. For them. For her friends. For his son.

Thane would want that. He'd want her to keep going.

Her grief was nothing compared to the lives of everyone in the galaxy.

Shepard stripped and stepped under the scalding water. She knew that. She _did_, but Gods it was so hard sometimes. She missed his warm presence, his companionable silences, their deep conversations. She missed his rumbling voice that broke past all her defences. She missed his deep dark eyes that saw beyond her Commander façade and lightened upon the woman beneath. She missed his hands caressing her flesh, his fingers tangled in her hair, his lips trailing kisses up her inner thigh. His soft breath on the back of her neck, his arms holding her tight against his chest as she fell asleep and their soft, drowsy good morning kiss in the pale blue glow of their aquarium.

He had wormed his way into her heart in a way that no one else had ever been able to, and now that he was gone Shepard felt empty, hollow. Her thoughts and memories were eternally tangled up in the alien who made her fall in love with him.

Shepard shook her head, rousing herself from the memory of their first shower together. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, trying to ignore the phantom ghost of his palm on her stomach. She dried herself, did her hair and cleaned her teeth. Wrapping her towel around her, she walked out into her bedroom and to her wardrobe. "How much time until I'm supposed to meet the others, EDI?" she asked.

"_Ten minutes, Shepard._

Shepard groaned and dropped the towel. _Oh, crap_. She pulled on her black bodysuit, and buckled each piece of red-and-black armour on one by one. "Thank you, EDI. That's all for now."

"_Logging you out, Shepard."_

In three minutes she was fully dressed and heading out the door. She stepped in the elevator. The doors closed, isolating Shepard from the rest of the ship. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, practicing a couple of the meditation techniques her lover had taught her. A few minutes later she was the cool, calm, almost stoic Commander Shepard everyone knew. Finally composed, she opened her eyes and pressed the buttom for the CIC, ready for the sights awaiting her.

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><p>It didn't work. Any calm she felt quickly drained as the elevator doors opened. Shepard moved as quickly as she could from the elevator to the Armoury, her eyes narrowed and teeth clenched. With all possible haste she strode through the doors, selected her weapons, and walked back out the door again.<p>

The shiny bright _newness_ of the CIC irritated her. The Alliance retrofit had wiped the scars of the Collector battle from the ship. It made it seem as though the battle had never happened, that those who had been lost had never boarded her, gave their lives for her, for the Alliance, for the Council, for _everyone_. It was cold, cruel even.

_It was downright disrespectful!_

Her new Yeoman, Michael Colinton, called out to her as she went passed. _No doubt trying to get me to check those infernal messages again, _she thought.

_Elendige __skiderik! _Michael irritated her, too. In her blacker moods he down-right pissed her off! He was never polite or kind about his constant nagging, not the way Kelly had been in executing her duties. Shepard tried to ignore him as best she could, pressing the button for the elevator and keeping her back turned to him as she waited for it to make its way up. As the door opened she heard him leave his post and walk towards her, constantly yammering the entire time. She quickly stepped in, turned around, and pierced him with her best _don't fuck with me_ gaze. Colinton froze for an instant, then immediately scurried back to his post, the blood drained from his face.

Shepard smirked as the doors closed on the image of a cowed little man. It felt way too good to make him squirm.

Shepard sighed. She missed her chats with Kelly, too. The perky woman had helped her a lot after she was resurrected. She had become a friend by the end. But, with the exception of Joker and Dr Chakwas, the few surviving members of the Cerberus crew were all in jail, rotting away because of who they_ used_ to work for, Kelly included. Not even Jacob had been safe. All of Shepard's powers of negotiation could not convince the contemptuous Council to pardon them.

She had failed them. She had failed _everyone_, and the guilt was almost unbearable. They had all become friends, to varying degrees, stuck on the same ship for so long, under such incredible duress. She should have been able to do more. But she was going to try and keep her promise to at least one of them.

It was the least she could do.

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><p>It was a very long, slow ride down to the Engineering and Cargo deck, where Garrus and Tali would be waiting, but it was long enough for her to calm down again. Just thinking of the sniper and the engineer made her smile. The rest of the crew may be in jail, but the fact that Garrus and Tali officially worked for her, not Cerberus, had saved them, and all the other non-Cerberus members of her squad. So while the ghosts had been replaced, and their home demolished and a new one rebuilt in its place, her family had remained. It made her glad that she had swallowed her pride and accepted the Council's offer for reinstatement as a Spectre. Even though, in the end, their support had been worth next to nothing.<p>

The sound of the loud, overheated argument wafting through the deck jarred Shepard back to reality. _Oh, what is it now?_ she thought. She gritted her teeth and hurried to the hanger. And then she stopped, eyes wide, then narrowing at the sight before her.

Garrus and Tali were both standing beside the Kodiak's open hatch, fully armed and ready to go. They were both tense. Garrus had his hand resting on the SMG in his holster. He would have looked relaxed to anyone who didn't know him, but Shepard could see he was on edge, ready to fight at an instant's notice.

Tali was standing directly in front of the Kodiak. She was pointing and waving her hands at a third armoured figure that was blocking the hatch. Shepard groaned as she saw who it was. _Alenko, _she moaned mentally. _What does he want?_

The argument seemed to have been escalating for a while now. Tali took an angry step forward and poked Alenko in his chest. "Listen here, you _bosh'tet_…"

Alenko battered her hand away with his arm. "I do not care what you think, Tali." he said

Tali took another, threatening step forward. "You have no right to do this!" she yelled.

Alenko's arm glowed a deep blue, _Stasis_ ready to go. "Don't fight me on this, Tali."

Garrus had his gun out and pointing at Alenko before Shepard knew what was happening. "Be careful, Alenko. This will not go well for you."

That was it. She couldn't let his escalate any further or they were going to kill each other. Shepard raced across the bay and knocked Garrus' pistol aside with one arm and grabbed the collar of Alenko's armour, dragged him out of the Kodiak and threw him to the floor with the other.

"Stand the _fuck_ down, all of you!" Shepard yelled. She met Garrus' eyes. He nodded at her and took a small step back before holstering his weapon. Shepard looked towards Alenko, and saw he already had his biotics under control. _Good_. "Now, would someone kindly tell me what is going on here?"

Kaiden stood, brushing himself off. "I'm coming with you, Shepard," he stated.

"By _Keelah_ you are!" Tali hissed. If she was a cat Shepard was sure her fur would have been standing on end. "Shepard needs people she can trust at her back, and you are not one of them!"

Alenko crossed his arms. "I used to be Shepard's most trusted officer, Tali, or don't you remember?"

"You were the one who changed that, or don't _you_ remember?" Tali retorted.

"Enough!" Shepard yelled. "You are both acting like _children_!" She threw glares at each of them before continuing. "We have an armada of Reapers in the galaxy, the Council and the Alliance hounding at our heels, and enough merc bands after us to constitute a small army. The last thing I need is to have my squad at each other's throats."

They all remained silent for a moment. Tali looked down at her feet. "You're right, Shepard,"she said finally. She turned back to Alenko. "I apologise, Major."

Alenko nodded tersely. "Thank you, Tali." he said. He turned back to Shepard. "Commander, this may still be your ship, but remember you were only allowed to keep it under the condition that…"

Shepard clenched her teeth. "I am _well_ aware of the terms, thank you." she forced out. _Oh, why does this bullshit always happen to me?_ She groaned, and looked back at the new Spectre. "Get in the shuttle, Alenko. You too, Garrus." she said.

Alenko walked past Tali towards the Kodiak, pointedly ignoring the quarian glaring at him. Garrus climbed into the Kodiak ahead of him. Instead of taking a seat, Garrus stood in the doorway, his eyes narrowed on Alenko, his mandibles held tightly against his jaw, muscles tensed, ready for action. Alenko stared up at him, his own eyes narrowing; his body tense. A flicker of biotic power sizzled between his fingers. A deep low growl sounded in Garrus' throat.

_Oh, for love of…_ "What did I just say?" Shepard yelled. "Both of you, back off! If any of you threaten any of your fellow crew members again, I will throw you out of an airlock myself!"

Garrus and Alenko both immediately backed down. Garrus even had the decency to look ashamed. He stood back and allowed Alenko into the shuttle, giving him a quick, if terse, nod as he passed. It was quite a humble peace offering, coming from Garrus, these days.

Shepard shook her head. _The problems we've had since Alenko came back on board._ Her squad barely tolerated him, and Garrus and Tali, who had been with her on the first Normandy, openly despised him. The crew was both in awe and terrified of the new human spectre. The conflicting sentiments had led to many interesting confrontations between the two groups. Miranda would have put a stop to it before it had ever got to the point where Joker felt entirely justified to "accidentally" spill a bowl of hot soup over his former friend. Her _new_ XO however? Garrus had, albeit gently, patted Joker on the back and promptly taken a bottle of scotch up to her cabin and spent the night playing Skyllian Five with her.

_I suppose it isn't surprising that tensions had risen this far, _Shepard thought_, but _guder helvede_, don't they realise I have better things to worry about? Like what it is that Alenko wants on that planet?_ She blinked. _Well, now, that's an idea._

Shepard walked over to Tali before she could consider the moral implications of what she was doing. She grabbed the quarian's elbow and led her away from the shuttle. "Tali, I want you and EDI to hack Alenko's omnitool. Can you do that?" she asked.

Tali snorted. "Of course, Shepard." she said. "This _is_ me you're talking to."

Shepard smirked. "I thought so. Do so as discreetly as you can. I just want you to monitor its use." Shepard said. She smiled at the younger woman. "Thank you, Tali."

"You can count on me, Shepard." Tali said. "Whatever you need."

"I know." Shepard said. She gently squeezed the quarian's arm. "Keep me updated if Alenko separates from us."

"Do you think he will try something?" Tali asked.

Shepard shook her head. "No. But I still don't trust him. Remember, discreet." she said.

Tali smiled sadly behind her mask. "I'll talk to you when you get back, Shepard."

Tali watched as Shepard walked back to the Kodiak and climbed in. The hatch closed behind her and the shuttle took off and flew out the cargo bay doors. It was no time at all before the shuttle was out of sight, zooming through the atmosphere, taking a broken woman to the aid of the boy who in a perfect galaxy would have been her son by now.

_Maybe she and Kolyat will be able to help each other, once this mission is over. _Tali thought. She quietly moved back through the cargo bay and back to engineering. "EDI, you heard Shepard. Let's get started."

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><p>*<em> Elendige <em>_skiderik! – _Miserable bastard!

* _guder__ helvede_ – Gods damn it


	3. Chapter Two Crying Rain and Wailing Wind

**Finally, here's Chapter Two - Crying Rain and Wailing Wind. This was a lot easier to write than the first chapter, but it's been hell to edit. Plus, you know, I didn't have any motivation. See what happens when you don't leave a review? So please, review me. Please? Look, I'm on my knees, here! Please, for the love of the Gods, REVIEW ME! (Melodrama, much?) ;)  
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**Anyway, major thanks go to my new beta: minorshan, who put up with a lot of my insecurities during the editing phase. Major thanks also to Cosmochyck, who acted as my sounding board for a couple of paragraphs that just refused to work for me. Both of the wonderful women made this chapter so much better than it otherwise would have been. Big, big plates of Thane cookies to you both. :glomphugz!:  
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**And today's chapter title comes from Tyr's Hear the Heathen Call, which I have been listening to, on repeat, NON-STOP while writing and editing this. Don't let the title fool you, this is actually a very mournful song, and suited this chapter beautifully! I'll include the lyrics right at the end of the chapter for those who want to know what they are and how they fit into the mood of this chapter. But go listen to it, it's really good! Well, I guess it has to be for me to listen to it non-stop for two weeks and _still_ like it by the end of it! lol :D**

**Anyway, enjoy. I'll be writing Chapter Three this week, since all you lucky sods get to play ME3 before I do (damn not living in the same town as my EB Games store. So not happy :( )**

**Cheers, darlings!**

**Sharlene**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two – <strong>**Grædende ****Regn og ****Jamrende ****Vind – Crying ****Rain and Wailing Wind…**

_**Three weeks earlier…**_

Chellick shook his head, his mandibles clicking against his jaw. "Another one." He sighed. "Where are they all disappearing to?"

Kolyat Krios closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Every few days there was a new missing person; a new wife, parent, friend, colleague, or lover to console with false platitudes and empty promises to find their loved one. Every few days it was another series of dead end interviews and false leads. Every few days it was a new life reduced to nothing but a few pieces of paper in an open file that, for all their efforts, just could not be closed.

Kolyat's eyes snapped open, the touch of Chellick's taloned hand pulling him from the rising tide of memories. He lifted his head, meeting the turian's eyes with a questioning gaze.

"Go home, Kolyat," Chellick said. "There's nothing we can do tonight. Get some sleep."

They stood in front of the apartment of the latest disappeared individual. Hanar. Male. Colonial development specialist acting as a liaison to a large construction company. Had a wife and three children, and had moved to the Citadel from Kahje only the year before. He left work the night before and never made it home.

As there were only two drell working for C-Sec, Kolyat had been called in and assigned to Chellick as his translator and cultural intermediary. The detective relied heavily on Kolyat as he interviewed the new family, trying desperately to find something, _anything_, that would help him find the missing hanar.

The memories of their pain were already haunting him.

Kolyat sighed, and handed the turian his data pad. "Yeah, sure, Chellick," he said wearily. "I'll see you in the morning."

Chellick studied the young boy in front of him. Kolyat's brows were draw, his eyes were puffy and unfocused, he was slouched and his bright turquoise-coloured scales had grown noticeably dimmer over the last few hours. "Are you going to make it home?" he asked.

Kolyat hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I don't need a babysitter, Chellick," he replied tautly. "I'll make it."

Chellick nodded and released Kolyat's shoulder. "Alright, then," he said. "I'm sorry I had to call you back into work so soon."

"It's fine, Chellick," Kolyat said. "I'll see you in the morning."

He stood there and watched as Chellick climbed into his police car and took off, swiftly disappearing from sight in the rushing traffic of the Citadel's airspace. As soon as he was gone, Kolyat turned the other direction and, stumbling, headed back home.

It was fortunate, in a way, that Kolyat lived so close to the latest… well, he didn't want to say victim, but after so many people going missing under the same suspicious circumstances, it was getting hard to remain hopeful. When Chellick had called Kolyat had been able to respond almost immediately, and it should have been a relatively safe and quick trip back home. But after two sleepless nights, it had taken all of his energy just to concentrate on translating the hanar family's testimonies.

Not that he would admit it to the turian, but he wasn't all too sure now that he _could_ make it home. Sheer exhaustion almost overpowered him. His body shook, and the corridor's garish lights stung his tired eyes. It was all too tempting to just lie down in the street, close his eyes, and left everything pass him by. Doing so, however, would result in a night in the cells, and that was one part of the Citadel that Kolyat had vowed never to step foot in again.

So wearily he pushed himself along the grey metal corridors. Even at this late hour the streets were full of laughing friends and drunken rabble. One particularly loud laugh startled him, and he turned his head. A small group of young people stood waiting to get into the Dark Star, including a male drell the would-be assassin had first met the day he had arrived on the Citadel. The manturned just as Kolyat passed, and waved him over with a smile. Kolyat shook his head, and turned away, wishing that he could forget himself for just one night.

Finally, he was nearly there; just one flight of stairs and one more corner. Kolyat slowly walked down the stairs, gripping the rail tightly and trying to concentrate on staying upright. He turned that last corner, and he stopped, slamming one hand on the wall to steady himself. _No_, he thought, _not again_.

His apartment was just a little ways down from the stairs, easily seen from where he was. Standing in front of his doorway was another hanar; one he didn't recognise.

Kolyat shook his head. _I really can't deal with this right now,_ he thought. He almost turned around and walked the other way, back to the stairs and down to the hotel three levels below. If anyone asks I suppose I could always say I just couldn't stand the sight of the place tonight. It would be true too, sort of.

The last few nights the walls had started to close in, to suffocate him. Those nights he missed Kahje, and the feeling of the wind on his scales as he walked the darkened shores of the only planet he had ever known. In the end he only stayed in his apartment because he had to sleep somewhere, and it was as good a place as any.

Before he had a chance to make up his mind, the hanar turned, and saw Kolyat. The hanar dipped its body forward slightly, and gracefully raised a tentacle, beckoning him over. Its bioluminescent lights flashed muted colours.

He recognised the hanar now.

Kolyat sighed. _It doesn't matter now_. Straightening his back, he steeled his expression into a closed, yet compassionate, expression, and walked forward. When he reached the Hanar he stopped, clasped his hands behind his back, and bowed. Polite and formal, just as his father and mother had taught him to address a Hanar when he was a child. "I apologise, Doctor. I was not expecting you this evening."

The hanar's bioluminescence flickered, acknowledging his apology. "This one humbly request to converse with the other in private."

Kolyat nodded. He couldn't do anything else. "Of course, Doctor."

Kolyat pressed his hand to the DNA scanner, and the locked panel on the door turned green. He opened the door, and stood back to allow the doctor to pass through before him.

The apartment was a mess. Packing boxes lay all over the furniture and countertops in various stages of "unpacked". He had moved to this new apartment, his father's apartment, just under six months earlier, when his father's illness had forced Kolyat to keep a closer eye on him.

It had been a good move, and had helped improve their relationship. They shared drinks and laughs, and stories, memories and arguments. Kolyat told his father of his life with his aunt and uncle, and of his first love. His father told him of his relationship with Kolyat's mother, and of his training under the Compact. Then suddenly his father was in hospital, weakened and struggling to breathe, and hooked up to machines that Kolyat knew his father hated with every fibre of his being. Then this hanar had come, and his father was whisked away. The disappearances started soon after that, and Kolyat just never gotten around to putting everything away. It seemed… wrong, somehow.

Kolyat closed the door, and stood before the hanar. Hands clasped behind his back, he was the unknowing mirror image of his father.

The doctor gently placed a tentacle on the same shoulder Chellick had. Without being told, Kolyat knew that Amonkira had finally delivered his servant into the arms of Kalihira.

"_This one regrets…" "The Enkindlers will guide…" "…valued soul…" "…deceased's wishes…" "…mortal vessel unable to be returned…"_

Kolyat heard it all, but as he staggered to the lounge and buried his head in his hand, it didn't mean anything. His brain would not accept it, the words washing over him like rain, even as his heart and his lungs stopped working.

The doctor placed another tentacle on his other shoulder, and placed another under his chin. "This one regrets bringing the other so much sorrow," he said, his lights a muted blue green in sadness, "yet this one requires much of the other, young drell."

Kolyat's inner eyelids blinked in surprise, his outer lids wide, and the unbidden stream of tears flowing free over his turquoise cheeks. "What?"

The doctor backed away, formalities resumed. "This one, those this one works for, are aware of its work within the Citadel Security agency."

Kolyat blinked again. "I'm sorry..?" he asked_. He tells me my only living parent has died and now he wants to talk about my job?_

The doctor continued. "This one is aware of the other's investigation into the individuals whom have recently disappeared. This one, and those this one is in their employ, are concerned with your lack of progress into this matter."

Kolyat frowns and sits rigid, customs of politeness forgotten in anger. "You come to tell me my Father is dead," he said. "You tell me that I can't even take him home to be returned to the sea and to my Mother, and now you tell me that you and some dodgy old scientists on the hospital board don't like the way I am handling my work? It's none of your damned business!"

The hanar's skin blinked in reds and blacks that Kolyat, even with his altered eyes, could barely see. His tentacles stiffened, his body grew rigid, and his "nose" pointed higher in the air. The hanar's stance gave Kolyat the impression that he was looking down his nose at him, as if he were an insect. It gives the young drell the feeling that he has done something he shouldn't have. "This one does not work for the hospital," the hanar states.

Kolyat shook his head. "If you, or rather your employers, have information regarding the disappearances you should report it to Detective Chellick, the investigator in charge."

The doctor's skin flickered in denial. "The one is unable to discuss the matter of the disappearances with Citadel officials."

Kolyat frowned. "Then why are you talking to me?"

There was a quiet knock at the door, interrupting the doctor. Kolyat stayed where he was, and waited for the doctor to deign to continue.

The doctor moved, but only to gesture to the door. Kolyat sighed; the doctor obviously wasn't' going to respond until he answered it. The drell pushed himself up and maneuvered around the coffee table and the hanar to the door.

Kolyat unlocked the door, and opened it. Standing outside was another drell, a young woman with bright blue eyes and emerald and black scales. She bowed, her arms cradling a rectangular box to her chest. "Sere Krios," she murmured quietly.

The doctor moved to a position behind Kolyat, and the young woman pushed past him to stand beside the hanar.

Kolyat closed his eyes and shut the door. _What is going on?_ he wondered. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and pretend that none of this had happened. Instead it was the middle of the night, and Kolyat had a hostile hanar in his father's apartment yelling at him immediately after telling him he's the last surviving member of his immediate family, and a strange drell who, for all he knew, was carrying a bomb and intending to blow them all to hell.

He sighed, and tried to steel himself before he turned around and faced the two intruders into his home. "Fine. Tell me what you want."

The doctor glided forward. "This one has the honour of acting on behalf of the Primacy. The other's sire, Sere Thane Krios, served the Primacy under The Compact for many years. We feel that its skills are required once again."

The young woman smiled at him with sad eyes. "Your father, Sere Krios, was once the best the Primacy had," she said quietly. "He was able to make inroads and establish contacts with species others could not."

The doctor continued. "The Primacy feels, and this one agrees, that with news of its sire's passing not yet known, its sire's contacts will be forthcoming with information if the other takes its sire's place."

For the second time that night the hanar threw him for a loop. _Did he really just say…? No, he couldn't have._ Kolyat took a deep breath. "Are… are you saying…" Kolyat stopped, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. The hanar couldn't be… "Are you asking me to take my father's place?"

The drell woman closed her eyes as the hanar nodded. "This one regrets the need to ask this of the other in its time of grief," he replied. "Yet this one's employer's feel the need warrants such action."

Kolyat shook his head. He couldn't believe it. The Compact turned his father into a murderer, forced him away from his family, and put him in the position where his wife was murdered to get to him. The Compact turned Kolyat into a figurative, if not literal, orphan, and now he was expected to bend to their will?

No. He was not going to turn into a killer, not anymore. His father and the Commander saved him from that. He would not disrespect his father's memory, the Commander's efforts, and Bailey and Chellick's trust, by turning down that path again. "No. I won't do it."

The woman blinked, and the hanar flashed his displeasure. "This one sympathises with the other's pain…"

"Then, please, leave me be. Take your information to the Detective. I- I need…"

"Time."

Kolyat looked up at the woman. She was looking at him, the sympathy, and pity in her eyes disarmed him. He was too tired to stay angry. He slumped back against the door. "Yes. Please…"

She smiled sadly. "The missing individuals are of great importance to the Illuminated Primacy," she said. "It is vital that they are found. And if they cannot be found, that those who took them are dealt with."

"Why couldn't one of your own spies do this?" Kolyat asked.

"We need your access to C-Sec, and the Krios name," she said. "You sound enough like your father to fool his contacts into thinking you are him so long as you avoid visual contact. Information you cannot obtain though regular means you may be able to via this method." She stepped forward. "Please. This has far reaching consequences that you cannot comprehend. They must be found, and we need your help."

Kolyat snorted. "In one breath you tell me my father has died, and in the next you tell me you want me to impersonate him?"

The hanar stepped forward. "These ones ask only for that which is necessary. Will the other serve the Compact?"

Kolyat didn't answer. He couldn't. He shook his head again to clear his thoughts. They were asking him to betray his father's memory, his friends, his superiors, even his own sense of honour. Even if all that wasn't true, he wasn't trained for this! He was no spy! No assassin! No covert operative. He couldn't do what they were asking of him!

The hanar placed a tentacle back on his shoulder. "This one begs the other considers the missing individuals, and their families. The other has been unable to help any missing others before now. This may be that which allows it to bring them home. This one is confident that the other will reach the correct conclusion." The hanar gently moved Kolyat aside, dismissing him. He opened the door, and walked outside, leaving the drell woman behind.

Kolyat turned back to her. "And why are you still here?"

She moved to stand before him. "It has been a long night for you. We will give you a few days to think things over. But we do need you, regardless of what you might think. Contact me at the Hanar Embassy with your decision. Ask for Velannia."

She pressed the box she had arrived with against his chest. "Your father had this on him. It belongs to you now."

Kolyat blinked. "What is it?"

Velannia shook her head. "I do not know." She seemed to hesitate for a moment, thinking something over. Surprisingly, she gave him a quick, one-armed hug. "I truly am sorry for your loss."

And she too was gone.

Kolyat didn't know how long he stood there beside his open door after they left. He just couldn't process it all. First the new missing person and their family. Next his father. Then the Hanar and the drell woman and, finally, the Compact. It was all too much; it was just way too much.

The clock on his omnitool beeped the hour, jarring him back to reality. The box had become a heavy weight in his arms, its metal casing cold against his scales. A drunken couple staggered past his door, their laughter loud in his ears. The bright lights outside his apartment blinded him.

Silently he closed the door, and walked back over to his seat on the lounge. He cradled the box in his arms. He didn't want to open it. He couldn't. Just like the unpacked boxes around his father's apartment, he couldn't bring himself to take that final step.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow was soon enough.

He lay down on the lounge, the box still in his arms. He closed his eyes, and let the tears come again.

* * *

><p><strong>Tyr - Hear the Heathen Call<strong>

**Many a thing may change during all the days**  
><strong>A mighty man wanders free on this earth<strong>  
><strong>Kinsmen young may fall by the bitter blade<strong>  
><strong>When he heard is when he laid down his life<strong>

**Borne on his shield, his sword lying on his chest**  
><strong>The Northern Gate they passed through<strong>  
><strong>They marched on to the eastern mound where they laid him down<strong>  
><strong>Crying rain and wailing wind in the mountains we all<strong>

**Hear the heathen call**  
><strong>Time will take us all<strong>  
><strong>And hear the heathen cry<strong>  
><strong>Finally we die<strong>

**So hear the heathen call**  
><strong>Time will take us all<strong>  
><strong>And only time will tell<strong>  
><strong>Time will bid us all farewell<strong>

**All knew our greatest times had come to an end**  
><strong>We proudly carved a memorial stone<strong>  
><strong>There to stand alone through the ages long<strong>  
><strong>Lasting onto later times of the world<strong>

**Many a thing may change during all the days**  
><strong>A mighty man wanders free on this earth<strong>  
><strong>Kinsmen young may fall by the bitter blade<strong>  
><strong>Crying rain and wailing wind in the mountains we all<strong>

**Hear the heathen call**  
><strong>Time will take us all<strong>  
><strong>And hear the heathen cry<strong>  
><strong>Finally we die<strong>

**So hear the heathen call**  
><strong>Time will take us all<strong>  
><strong>And only time will tell<strong>  
><strong>Time will bid us all farewell<strong>


	4. Author's Message

Invictus

Author's Address.

Hi everyone. It's mythlover20 here.

I am afraid I owe you all a massive apology. When I uploaded Chapter Two, it was only a few days before Mass Effect 3 came out. Like you, I anticipated a wonderful conclusion to the story that in essence made me want to write again. I looked forward to the first bars of music, those first words of dialogue, that first kiss with my (Shepard's) lover, with an excitement I have never before felt for a video game.

And then it all came crashing down. Margurite was taken from her would-be husband, forced into the company of her ex-lover who just didn't know how to take no for an answer, with no option to break his fingers whenever he touched her, and when she finally found the love of her life again, he threw her aside.

Thane's romance in Mass Effect 3 was the most disgusting piece of crap I have ever come across as a reader, and as a gamer. Capcom writes better romances than the Thane romance in ME3. CAPCOM! And we all know what Capcom's writing is like. :vomit:

Since I played Margurite's playthrough until only just after Thane died, I went on to Margaret's playthrough. Seeing the work that went into Garrus's romance, it makes me sick to think they couldn't do the same thing for Thane.

I'm not even going to touch the debacle of the endings. Not here anyway.

Since I had finished ME3, I had lost all desire I had to continue writing Invictus. I had even considered scrapping it all together. But I didn't want to leave you hanging like that. And in the weeks since I've been back on the Thane Thread over on the BSN, and since I joined the Thane Fanbook Project as a contributor/editor, I have slowly been regaining the inspiration to continue writing.

So I will be continuing Thane and Margurite's tale. Since I started it long before ME3 came out, and it is based on the rumour of the Invictus mission Thane was supposed to have, you can safely assume that I am ignoring the entire ME3 romance. I promise I will do my best to make sure that what I come up with is a lot better than what Bioware did.

I'll try to get Chapter Three up as soon as possible. But with my work on the Thane Fanbook Project (h ttp :/ t han e- fanboo k. dev iant art. co m/ ) (minus the spaces), it may be a while. But rest assured, Kolyat is still poking his scaly blue fingers into my frontal lobe, and Margurite is still beating me over the head with her Stradivarius, so there WILL be another chapter.

Though Thane's silent, intensely disapproving stares are the worse than the other two.

If you know of someone, or are indeed someone, who has some Thane art they wish to contribute to the Fanbook, please go to the link above. All the details on submissions are there. Just make sure they are in before 30 April, please.

Thank you everyone for sticking with me. It means a lot. Really, it does.

Sharlene

aka mythlover20


	5. Chapter Three Shadows Cast

**Hi guys! Mythlover20 here. Well, it's been nearly a year since I've last updated Invictus. So even though this chapter is only half done, I thought it was about time to post something to let those of you who are left who still follow it know it isn't dead! Lol.**

**This will continue to update EXCEEDINGLY slowly for the foreseeable future, I'm sorry to say. Those of you who read the Author's Note last chapter know that I am main member of the production team of the Thane Fanbook Project spearheaded by one of the wonderful ladies on the BSN. Well, since then many things had happened in our real lives that basically put the book on indefinite hold, and I'm currently the only one working on it. There were many reasons for this, not the least of which was me. Despite over a month of asking, absolutely bloody no one would help out and write an introduction. So like much else that fell to me. Well, at this point it turned into an in-depth character analysis and comparison of the multiple character arcs of Thane Krios in both Mass Effects 2 and 3, and I've written three versions of it in what very little spare time I have now that I'm looking after my elderly mother full time, and it's still no where finished. And I've been working on it for ten months now. It is my top priority and as such I only work on other stuff (including Invictus) sparingly. It is especially slow because as I am making some pretty broad statements regarding player sentiment I have had to do a lot of research, so if anyone want's to help, head over to the Thane Fanbook Project Deviantart page at THANEFANBOOK . DEVIANTART . COM (no spaces lower case) or to the #SaveThane facebook page. #SaveThane is also on twitter and tumblr.**

So anyway, Invictus. This chapter is unfortunately un-beta'd. I lost my first beta at chapter one due to real life commitments, and my second beta hadn't talked to me since the uploading of chapter two (I think I scared her), so I'm afraid it isn't my best work. There are also some points I find rather contrived, but they're in the previous chapters, so I'm thinking I might go back and rewrite them once I can this essay done and devlope some sort of writing schedule. Which may be difficult.

So thanks for sticking around, despite the lack of updates. I hope you enjoy this chapter, for what it's worth. It's not much, but it is necessary to future plot developments.

Poor Kolyat.

So,

**Keelah Se'lai.  
><strong>

**Hold our Drell Dearly, **

**And as always...**

#SaveThane

* * *

><p><strong>Invictus<strong>

**Chapter Three - Skygger på en formørket sjæl - Shadows Cast on a Darkened Soul**

_Two weeks earlier…_

Kolyat sat on his lounge, head in his hands, staring at the bluish metal case on the coffee table in front of him that held his father's omnitool. The ever-illuminated lights were turned down, leaving the room in a dark twilight. Dust lay thick on every flat surface. Dirty crockery sat piled in the kitchen sink, and his packing boxes were still spread over the floor. He had sat there lost in his memories for so long his dinner had congealed on the coffee table in front of him.

If it wasn't for that damn omnitool Kolyat could have almost believed that the events of the previous week had been nothing but a bad extranet vid he fell asleep watching. First a series of suspicious disappearances, then death of a loved one, and finally a clandestine offer to work for a seedy underworld organisation? That sort of thing only happened in cheap dramas! Didn't it?

Really, the notion that he could assume his father's role was ludicrous! Sure, he sounded a lot like his father now that his own voice had matured. He had received basic hand-to-hand training from his father before Thane had become too weak to do so, and his training at the academy after his community service had turned him into a brilliant marksman. Pretending that the target was his father, Bailey, Tallid, Kellum, and especially that blasted blonde-haired Shepard woman had helped a lot in the early days when he was still angry at the galaxy.

Yet Kolyat's training was nothing when compared to what Thane had to go through! If the hanar's theory regarding the connectivity of the disappearances was true, they didn't have six years to train Kolyat.

Even if they had the time, did Kolyat really want to be bound to the Compact?

_Father reaches out to Mother, pleading, imploring forgiveness. Mother turns, screams at him over her shoulder. "Go, then. Leave! See if we care!"_

_Father grabs her arm, begs her understanding. "Irikah…" he says._

_Mother turns, hand flying, slaps him across his cheek. Father blinks, stunned. Mother cries, tears trailing across teal scales. She whispers. "Just go."_

_I cry out. Father and Mother stiffen. Father looks over Mother's shoulder, gasps. "Kolyat?"_

_Mother turns, reaches out towards me, and tries to lead me away._

_I pull away from her grasp. "I hate you. I hate you both!"_

_I run._

Kolyat had run for hours, away from the biodome and out into the rain-drenched fields of caenna grain, to the ocean shore. His tears had mingled with the raindrops pouring down from the grey-cast skies. It took his parents three hours to find him. By that time Kolyat had been so sick he was admitted to hospital, lungs rattling with phlegm. Two days later his father had left anyway, taken away because of a job the Compact had forced on a child.

The next time Kolyat saw his father Thane had been creeping in the front door of the house, his rifle case hanging loose in his hand. His green scales had shone an iridescent white in a rare shaft of bright moonlight, leaving his eyes two black holes that seemed to suck you soul from your chest, and left you hollow and cold. Kolyat had crept back to his bed, and hidden under the covers. He pretended to be asleep when Thane entered his room, and kissed him on his forehead. For the first time in his life, Kolyat had been truly afraid of his father.

Fear and uncertainty, an absentee father, and two years later a murdered mother. The Compact had caused Kolyat nothing by pain and misery, and the very thought of it made him ill.

So why did he feel so compelled to obey?

So many drell accepted the Compact without a thought, and it changed their lives drastically. It should be an honour to serve the Primacy, for without the hanar the drell would not exist. Kolyat would not exist. Thane would not have lived, nor his mother, his grandparents, and possibly his great-grandparents. Whatever they could do to repay the debt should be done. It was… right, to repay the debt to those who saved your life.

Nothing would be the same if he accepted, though. What was worse was that he didn't know what the Hanar would do with him after the investigation was completed. Did they just want him for this, or were they planning on turning him into a spy, an agent within C-Sec ranks they could use at their whim?

Thane and Irikah had refused to bind Kolyat to the Compact when he was a child. Had they known something he didn't?

_By Arashu, this is going to drive me crazy_, Kolyat thought. He shook his head violently and threw the fork in his hand back onto the plate. He wasn't hungry; the weight of his decision made his stomach churn at the mere thought of food. He just wished that he could figure out what to do. _At least then I might be able to eat_, he thought. Running on empty wasn't going to get him anywhere.

Resting his head on one fist Kolyat stared at his father's omnitool. If he let his mind drift he could almost hear Thane's voice through its speakers. "I wish I could talk to you about this, Dad," he said softly. "You would know what I should do."

As always, the omnitool was silent. No voices from beyond sounded to comfort or enlighten him. He was on his own. No one could help him with this decision.

With a deep sigh Kolyat stood, carrying his plate as he moved through the boxes to his kitchen. He shoved the plate into the fridge, failing once again to notice the half-eaten dishes lining the shelves. Mind whirling Kolyat pulled out his kettle, trying to distract himself with the menial task of boiling water for his tea.

Yet even the most mind-numbing of tasks would not have offered peace. Every horrifying scenario Kolyat could think of flicked through his mind: what if he refused and they never caught the kidnapper? What if he accepted and the hanar turned him into a spy? Worse, what if they turned him into his father?

Kolyat wiped a hand over his face as he fell back against the counter, his arms and legs heavy. Four days and he was still asking the same questions over and over again. Four days, and he still wasn't any closer to a decision than he had been when the hanar doctor… Commissioner… had tried to conscript him.

Shaking his head Kolyat turned his attention back to preparing his tea. Pulling containers from the cupboards he added small, measured doses of the different leaves to the boiling water. Their spicy aroma wafted through the air as they dissolved, displacing the smell of stellar dust. Kolyat drew it deep into his lungs, grabbed a cup, and poured the smooth, steaming, golden liquid.

Both he and his father had shared a love for this particular blend, grown in specially constructed hot houses on the small Kahjean islands belting the planet's equator. The medicinal properties of the tea had helped ease Thane's coughing fits when he was first diagnosed. Drell parents everywhere gave it to their children whenever they caught a cold. Kolyat, he drank it for the pleasure.

_The sound of laughter bellows from the kitchen. I run to the doorway. Father grabs Mother around the waist. He lifts her, and spins her around. Mother sees me as they turn. "Kolyat!" she cries, laughing. "Save me!"_

_I run in and grab father's leg. "Put her down," I say._

_Father laughs. "Very well, Kolyat! I surrender!" he says. He puts mother down, and reaches for me; picks me up. He throws me into the air, then catches me. He spins me. "Faster, Daddy," I cry. "Faster!"_

_Father's laughter rings clear. He spins, faster and faster. Suddenly he stops, bends over and places me back on the floor. Father stoops, and clutches at his chest, coughing._

_He's still sick; the summer cold is still holding strong._

_His coughs stop as quickly as they began. He stands up again, and thumps his chest with a closed fist. He looks at me, and he smiles. "Don't worry, Kolyat. I'll be well soon."_

_The rain water boils on the stove. Mother rubs her hand across Father's shoulders. She measures out the tea leaves, and tips them into the water. She pours three small cups. She gives one cup to me. "Be careful, Kolyat. It's very hot," she says._

_I nod. "Yes, Mummy," I say. I walk into the living room, and carefully sit in mother's chair. I look back into the kitchen. Mother is handing Father another cup. He takes it, smiles, and leans down to kiss her._

Only four years old, he hadn't understood what the tea really meant. Kolyat lifted a hand, and wiped the unbidden tears from his cheeks.

_"No. Gods, Thane, no."_

_Father reaches out to Mother. He wipes the tears from her face, his own falling freely. "I'm so sorry, Irikah," he mutters._

_I stand behind the doorway, peeking through the crack. I'm crying too._

Kolyat had been eight years old by that time. Thane and Irikah had tried to hide how serious those summer colds had become from their son, but all drell knew what those few words meant. Those words had been repeated in almost every household on Kahje since the First Generation. Kolyat had known it would be years before Thane finally succumbed, but at that moment, he knew that his father was already standing on the shore, waiting to cross the sea.

No one would have ever guessed that Kolyat would lose his mother first.

That was what made this decision so hard, Kolyat realised, raising the cup to his lips: His mother. He lost her due to a contract the Hanar gave his father. His father would never have been given the job if it weren't for the Compact. Could Kolyat accept the Compact, and place any family he might have in the future in a similar position?

But Hanar families were in that position now. Hanar children and wives, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers were fearing that they would never see their loved ones again. What would Irikah think if he didn't accept the Commissioner's offer? What would she think if he did?

An omnitool rang loudly in the living room, the music not just old, but seriously out-dated. Kolyat rolled his eyes. His salarian co-worker, Degan, must have been fiddling with his omnitool again. At least it's not a porn soundtrack this time, he thought. He brought his tea to his mouth, and threw his head back, downing the soothing liquid in a single swallow.

Quickly depositing the new cup in the sink with the old Kolyat rushed back to answer the call. Spying his omnitool lying on the table he slapped it on his arm and tried to answer the call before it dis connected. "Hello?" he said.

A faint buzzing sounded over the device's speakers before the caller spoke. "Kolyat!" Chellick's yelled. "Get up. We need you down at the 1400 Blocks."

Kolyat rubbed his hand over his eyes and shook his head. "Chellick?" he asked. "Dammit, man, I only just got home! Can't you get Etania or Annüstân to translate for you?"

"That was an order, Drell!" Chellick snapped. "Get down here! You can sleep when you're dead!"

Kolyat suppressed an irritated growl. "Not funny, Chellick." he mumbled.

Chellick ignored him. "See you in fifteen minutes."

The turian hung up without even saying good bye. Kolyat blinked, and let his chin fall to his chest with a groan. Whatever happened certainly had the turian more on edge than usual. _Oh, this is not good._ Kolyat thought despondently.

The tired young man stared longingly towards his bedroom door and sighed. "Dammit," he muttered. He turned his back on his bed, and forced his body from his night wear, back into the uniform he had discarded only an hour before. After retrieving his gun and identification from his wall safe, Kolyat was out the door and running towards the rapid transit station.

He forgot all about the medication lined neatly atop his bedside table.


End file.
